SPIDER’S TERRITORY

by Gregory A.

 

CHARACTERS:       SPIDER, the lion, age 24.

VATO LOCO, the crocodile, Spider’s twin brother.

 

SETTING:                  Houston, Texas. Beautiful place. There are castles and open land. The land looks dry and very scary. Beaches with sharks and deadly jellyfishes, sand. Sky, blue, white clouds and dragons in the sky with devil eyes, red. Sharp claws and sharp teeth, spikes in their backs. It smells like fire. But it’s soft here like being in the bed. The city is filled with soldiers that look like fighting lions ready to feast for lives to take away. They look big, orange, with armor colored silver. There’s holes going through the earth, and inside the holes are captured humans who are being tortured by the lions. The lions are scratching the human’s backs and eating them alive. There is the sound of humans screaming, other lions fighting for females, sleeping space, respect and honor.

 

TIME:                          2014. The month of May. Night.


AT RISE:                   SPIDER is eating a human being’s back. The human is dead. Enter, VATO LOCO, with an army of lions. He approaches SPIDER.

 


VATO LOCO

I’m standing here to tell you I ain’t no coward and don’t take me like a coward human.

 

SPIDER

That’s good that you speaking up for yourself. I did a good job of teaching you not to be a coward.

 

VATO LOCO

My soldiers are fighting too hard and they’re not getting enough respect. 

 

SPIDER

Once we take control of the world we’re going to split everything right in the middle the way its supposed to work like brothers. But in the meantime we feast. We feast on humans. So we could taste their blood. So we could feel more motivated to take them out. Tell the general to prepare the soldiers and to train them for the world. Tell the general to be hard on the soldiers. To not have no mercy against the humans. It’s good for the soldiers not to have no mercy so they won’t turn against their own.

 

VATO LOCO

This is where the deal stops now. I don’t want to play no jokes with my own brother. I don’t want to betray my own family and I don’t want you to betray your own blood. To not hold back what we came to promise. The land. To give me part of Africa.

 

SPIDER

Alright then I’m going to give you your share. But only if I get the rich part. The beaches, the green land, the nice mountains. I keep all the animals in the part I chose. And you could have the dry land, the desert, and you get no supplies from me ‘cause all you ask for was the land.

 

VATO LOCO

(Aside.)

All of my hope is gone. Of having peace. Spider knows I will not enjoy my life in Africa the way I dreamed of it to be because I will die in the desert. He’s over there having fun and I’m over here dying. I’m not going to get my share, and it’s not right. Family shouldn’t treat each other like that. We should take care of each other and give each other happiness. I should live past my dreams the way I was dreaming about living like a fantasy world. So I could have space and my own freedom. I just want to be left alone. Running free. No one telling me what to do. I was planning to live my life relaxed with no violence. My life here in Houston is terrible. I’m suffering. I’m dying. I sleep anywhere on the ground. I feel scared. Because of Spider. I’m living in captivity. I don’t get my own privacy because there’s always violence going on. I shouldn’t had to be played. I should’ve done it myself—taken over the world, and I should have destroyed Spider when he was weak. We were close to each other since all my life but everything was fake. I feel like he was never a part of me. My goal isn’t going to happen so I will have to take another route and take over Spider’s territory.

 

(To SPIDER.)

 

 “Half of the power, half of the world.”  We used to be close. We used to go hunting for humans together. Now we can’t go back to those days. Our trust is broken. I still have feelings for you because you’re my brother.

 

SPIDER

The script of the law is told that whose stronger gets the rich life and one should live the poor life.

 

VATO LOCO
The script of the law says that?

 

SPIDER

Who gets to stay and

who gets to go.

Who gets the rough parts

who gets the miserable life.

Whoever organizes stuff first gets the happy life.

 

VATO LOCO

I never knew that.

 

SPIDER
Because you can’t read.

VATO LOCO

Where is the script of the law? Show it to me.

 

SPIDER

The script is in the heart of Africa. That’s in Kenya.

 

VATO LOCO

You should have told me how the deal really worked.

 

SPIDER

Life isn’t fair.

 

VATO LOCO

You didn’t have to lie to me.

 

SPIDER
It is what it is.

 

VATO LOCO

That’s not right.

 

SPIDER

One person has to have everything.

 

VATO LOCO

Even though there’s a lot to go around?

 

SPIDER

Two kings cant be happy in one place.

 

VATO LOCO

I don’t believe that’s what the script says.

 

SPIDER

It would be like living in a pouch.

 

VATO LOCO

You backstabbed me.

 

SPIDER
They should have taught you how to read.

           

VATO LOCO

I feel pathetic. Worthless.

 

SPIDER
I organized everything and you did what I told you. That makes me the king. I’m in charge. I’ll always be forty five minutes ahead of you, bigger than you, stronger than you. So shut the swamp up and do like I tell you.

 

VATO LOCO
You sound like the devil.

 

SPIDER

Yeah, and he keep whispering in my ear telling me to do bad things.

 

VATO LOCO

Tell him to stop.

 

SPIDER

I can’t.

 

VATO LOCO

Yes, you can.

 

SPIDER

There’s a devil on one on my shoulders and an angel on the other shoulder, and they both telling me to do things but I always listen to the devil.

 

VATO LOCO

Why?

 

SPIDER

That’s why I punch people when they don’t do what I say. I say hey buy this from me and if they don’t buy it I punch ‘em. Especially other lions.

 

VATO LOCO

But why are you treating me like this? I’m your brother. We come from the same hole. Born and raised here in Houston. We’re just alike.

 

SPIDER

No, I’m the oldest. I came out first.

 

VATO LOCO

So? We both chose to create an army to take over the world so humans and other creatures that are lurking for trouble will stop telling us what to do. When we were young, we would always get punked. Remember how we got hit, tortured and got bruises? They made us eat dirt.

 

SPIDER

They did that so we would break and stand up for ourselves. The other creatures were toughening us up so that we could be strong like soldiers. They chose us to be their leaders because we’re next in line to be kinds and rulers of the world according to the law. According to the script.

 

VATO LOCO

I want to have peace and I want to get away from all this violence. I want my half of the world so I can relax and be left alone. I’m serious about my land.  It’s time for a new change. If you don’t give me part of the land you promised me and my soldiers, we will go to war against you.

 

SPIDER
You can’t do nothing. You’re worthless. Pathetic. You can’t even read the script and what it means. Two kings can’t be happy in one place.

 

VATO LOCO

(Aside.). I’m losing my time. I’m going to lose all my soldiers. I worked hard to create my army and it’s a shame that its falling piece by piece. I don’t want to kill my brother.

 

(To SPIDER.)

 

Spider, where are your soldiers?

 

SPIDER

Training.

 

VATO LOCO

Where?

 

SPIDER

Four hundred yards away. Under the dragon sky.

 

VATO LOCO

If you’re not treating me right, then I will have to take you out the game. I’m declaring war.

 

(VATO LOCO looks at his army of lions and gives them the war signal by letting his tongue touch his left eye.)

 

Put on the green light.

 

(VATO LOCO’S army attacks SPIDER. SPIDER fights the lions alone.

He’s fighting hard.)

 

How can I do this to him? He’s my brother. But he has no place for me in his heart anymore. He wants everything for himself. And he and his army will kill us if we don’t kill them first.

 

(VATO LOCO sneaks up behind SPIDER and bites his legs and tears them off. SPIDER is crawling like a baby.)

 

The puppy is barely up. Where are your soldiers, Spider?

 

(As SPIDER calls out with a big roar to his army, VATO LOCO snaps and bites him in his mouth with a death hold.)

 

Look what you making me do to you.

(SPIDER dies.)

 

Spider. Spider. Get up. Please. Get up. I feel a hole in my heart. I have a hole in my heart. My dream. The whole time my real dream was to rule with you. Now you have to get up and fill this hole in my heart. Get up! GET UP!

 

(SPIDER is dead. VATO LOCO looks at his army.)

 

I know what you’re thinking. Will you take me out to get the power? Look at me. I’m king now.  I have no brother. I have nothing now. Is this power? Even though of living non-violence. And the violence is going to live in me. I’m not happy. I ask you, is this power? I don’t know how I will—I don’t know how—how am I going to…? Do you want this power? You want to kill me now?

 

(VATO LOCO’S army peer out into the land. In the distance, the sound of Spider’s army of lions approaching in a big pack. VATO LOCO’S army listen. They look at VATO LOCO. His tongue touches his left eye.)

 

Green light.

 

(The lions begin to advance for war. Their silver armor sparkles under the sun.)

 

“Half of the power, half of the world.”

 

(They all start running towards the other lions.)

 

Africa.

 

(They pick up speed.)

 

Rich. Beaches. Green lands. Nice mountains. No mercy.

 

END OF PLAY

 



back